Starting today, Book Club will sell books, coffee, beer and wine to go

[Photo from November by Stacie Joy]

Some good news from Book Club over at 197 E. Third St. between Avenue A and Avenue B.

Starting today, owners Erin Neary and Nat Esten will be serving from a makeshift takeout window, where you'll be able to get espresso drinks to go... not to mention books that you've ordered for a contactless pickup from their website.

In addition, Book Club finally received their beer and wine license, so they'll be serving that to take home as well.

Per a Book Club email:

All the proper precautions will be put in place, including face masks, gloves, sanitizing surfaces, and our takeout "window" opening onto the street where people can properly distance themselves. In addition, you'll be able to pay with Venmo for minimal contact.

It's hardly the grand opening party we thought we'd be throwing when we finally got our beer and wine license (8 months later than anticipated) but here we are, and we hope you'll come celebrate with us!

Also, as we noted last week, Nat is now making book deliveries via bicycle.

Since then, Nat has logged 175-plus miles over three boroughs.

Back to their email:

It's a whole lot faster (and cheaper) than USPS, and a fun novelty for those receiving books to their door. Going forward, we're limiting our bike deliveries to a 35-minute ride from the store, Monday through Thursday.

For now, the to-go window will be open from 10 a.m. to sunset seven days a week.

Dante and Diego's adoption is the feel-good story that we need right now

On Sunday, I posted that Dante and Diego, the two bonded senior labs that belonged to Chile, the longtime 12th Street resident who recently passed away, had been adopted together by a couple in Brooklyn.

Reps from Animal Haven, the nonprofit animal shelter, took the dogs in on Nov. 27. Chile's neighbors rallied to keep Dante and Diego together following his death.

Animal Haven shared the adoption story on Instagram:

The couple recently had to say goodbye to their senior lab. As lifelong dog lovers, their home was empty and quiet, and they decided it was time for a new addition.

So they came to Animal Haven looking for a new puppy. But after seeing Dante and Diego and hearing their story, they knew in their hearts that those old souls were the dogs for them. It was fate.

Dante and Diego are now happily home, less than one week after losing the only home they'd ever known. We are beyond thrilled!

"This is what we dream of for all of our animals," said Jenny Coffey, Animal Haven's director of community engagement, who facilitated the rescue. Our heartfelt thanks goes out to everyone in this amazing, animal-loving NYC community who shared and participated in Dante and Diego's journey!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Animal Haven (@animalhaven) on Dec 4, 2018 at 12:19pm PST

Dante and Diego have been adopted, and are going together to a new home in Brooklyn!

Diego and Dante, the two labs that belonged to Chile, the longtime 12th Street resident who recently passed away, have been adopted together by a couple in Brooklyn.

This past Tuesday, Animal Haven, a nonprofit animal shelter, took the dogs away to find them a new home.

The folks at Animal Haven shared the photo below and this message on Instagram Wednesday:

Chile was one of those kind individuals who knew everyone on East 12th Street and, in turn, the neighborhood also cared for his beloved senior dogs, Dante and Diego. The threesome would sit together on a local bench welcoming neighbors home from a long workday. Together, they were unique characters that made the East Village welcoming and a true neighborhood. So it's no surprise that everyone came together soon after Chile's passing to make sure the dogs were safe and a call was made to Animal Haven for help.

When our community outreach team arrived yesterday to pick up the dogs, they were met by a handful of residents and friends of Chile. 💙💙💙 A group of eight friends walked the dogs to the transport car where photos were taken, hugs were given, and tears were shed.

A tipster says that NY1 will be featuring this adoption. I'll link to that clip once it's online. Updated: Here's the link to the NY1 piece.

Updated 12/5
Read an update here!

Good news: Whole Earth Bakery and Kitchen to reopen next week

Slum Goddess passes along good news about Peter Silvestri's Whole Earth Bakery and Kitchen, which has been closed for renovations since Aug. 14:

I talked to Peter today..They should be open around the 23rd of this month..some bullcrap with his "company" name or something..he had no real health code violation problems..but I went in there today and he was in there and they really did a lot of work on the place! All freshly painted, polished and gleaming..he was stocking the shelves and they had new menu signs hung up-bigger and brighter ones..It wasn't all fro-yo'd upped and gross though..still looks like good old whole earth-just spiffed up! I told Peter we were all worried and he was flattered and eager to reopen for business next week!

Previously.

Photo via.

Making it official at St. Brigid's: "The construction and restoration has begun!"

Edwin Torres, chairman of the Committee to Save St. Brigid's, posted a brief note today ... the lead:

The construction and restoration has begun!

He notes that not much happened at the church in recent months. "Most of the summer was spent correcting minor conditions the City of New York insisted be corrected before work could begin." He said the city approved the plans for the restoration on June 28; work officially began at the site on Avenue B at Eighth Street this past Tuesday.

Previously.

The Holiday Cocktail Lounge lives

Not sure if these signs went up yesterday or today at the Holiday on St. Mark's Place...Good news, nonetheless. If it was open last night...anyone go in for drinks? And hooray finally for some good news.

[UPDATED: Jeremiah stops by for a drink....]

For further reading:

Holiday Cocktail Lounge (Jeremiah's Vanishing NY)

Is the Holiday over? (NYPress)

Two EV buildings designated as city landmarks

From The Villager: "The Landmarks Preservation Commission last week designated as city landmarks two East Village buildings dating from the 1920s, the Wheatsworth Bakery, now a storage warehouse on E. 10th St., and the Public National Bank, now a residential building on Avenue C (pictured right)."

[Villager photo by Caroline Debevec]

From the Department of Good News -- Katz's edition

In an entertaining and thorough post this morning on the state of egg creams, Jeremiah delivers a comforting passage after an interview with Fred Austin, co-owner of Katz's

As for those perennial whispers Katz’s might be vanishing, Fred says, “Every so often I drop the rumor we might be closing, just to boost our business, but I like this place too much. We’ll be around for a long while.”

Meanwhile, here's part of a reel for a documentary this fellow is making about Katz's. Here's more on the project.




And more...

OTBs will stay open

Good news, as the Times reports:

Confusion and discord gave way to handshakes on Sunday as Gov. David A. Paterson and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg agreed on a deal authorizing the state to take over the city’s Off-Track Betting Corporation while still granting the city a share of gambling revenues.
The agreement allows the city’s 68 OTB parlors to open on Monday, averting a shutdown the mayor had threatened for Sunday that would have put hundreds of people out of work.

Good news!: New York is not one of Relocate-America's top 100 cities to live in the United States

How embarrassing would that have been?

Here's the whole list.

Curious, at least, about the top 10?

1. Charlotte, N.C.

2. San Antonio, Texas

3. Chattanooga, Tenn.

4. Greenville, S.C.

5. Tulsa, Okla.

6. Stevens Point, Wis.

7. Asheville, N.C.

8. Albuquerque, N.M.

9. Huntsville, Ala.

10. Seattle, Wash.